Chennai's first ever School Football League Launched

Chennai's first ever Under-14 school football league, the Chola-MS Schools Football Premier League was launched today in the city. The league will feature 14 of the top schools from Chennai in a 45 game tournament and will take place over the course of 2 months. The Chola-MS Schools Premier League is promoted by the Chennai United Football Club.

The league will see 14 schools form Chennai compete in the under-14 age category in the first year. The 14 school teams will be split into two groups with the top two from each group qualifying for the semi-finals. The league will be expanded to target more age categories and increase the number of schools participating in the following year. The Club will provide complete match kits for all the schools in the league. Talented players identified in this league will be selected for the clubs Elite Development Program.

Varun Tripuraneni, Founder of Chennai United FC and Chola-MS Schools Premier League commented, "The introduction of the school league was something we felt was paramount in the development of football in local schools. The Chola-MS Schools Premier League is an opportunity to provide these hopeful youngsters a platform to showcase and refine their football talents. India have been handed hosting rights for the under 17 world cup in 2017. This is a great oppourtunity for our young Indian players to compete against the best in the world. With AIFF looking to build a good team for the under 17 world cup, we hope, with the schools premier league, we will identify some potential targets. The response from the schools has been extremely positive from day one and our aim is to build on this in the next couple of years. I would like to thank Chola-MS, Radiance Developers, Nippon Paint and The Village for buying into our vision and supporting us in what will be a first of its kind league in Chennai."

Chennai United FC has tied up Sports Mechanics, a leading company in the field of sports analytics. This partnership gives the Schools Premier League a new dimension. The league will have video highlights of the game as well as match analysis. The schools and individual players can take a look at match statistics and individual statistics after every game.
"An important part of developing players is ensuring they are prepared in the best possible way. Our partnership with Sports Mechanics will focus on performance enhancement in order to avoid injury and increasing fitness. Through leading technology, we will focus on technique, proper mechanics, and a global approach to fitness. Ramky and his team work with leading players including the Indian cricket team and it is our pleasure to have him on board with us." added Varun.

The Schools Premier League is backed by many corporate sponsors with Chola MS as the title sponsor. Reputed brands like Nippon Paint, The-Village ( Phoenix Developers ) and Radiance Developers have agreed to be associate sponsors for the league. Along with the club and the teams, the participating schools will also gain publicity from the media coverage for these tournaments.

Mr Neeraj Moorjani, Head – CRM, Brand Management & Corporate Communications, Chola-MS, commented, " We are very proud to associate with School Premier League as principal sponsor. We believe that this initiative will go a long way in developing the young talent for the high energy popular sport of football within the country. We wish all the participating teams best of luck. Sponsoring this league is in line with our brand philosophy of being with you when you need us most.”

About
Debraj Banerjee

Hi, I am Debraj Banerjee from Adra, West Bengal. A keen follower of Indian football and always an optimist that the game will get the recognition it truely deserves. What we ask from you is your support and one day the dream might turn true. Fingers crossed for Indian football. Cheers!